Sing Me to Sleep
by The End of Always
Summary: A BoFA fic where Kili dies first, and his last request is for Fili to sing him to sleep. Angst, canonical character deaths.


It was Fili who first noticed Thorin wasn't there. He and Kili had stuck close to each other and their uncle throughout the whole battle – the line of Durin fought together. But now Thorin was missing. Fili scanned the heaving mass of bodies as he fought off orcs, and then he saw him. Thorin was lying collapsed on the ground, Azog's sword embedded in his chest. He was straining for his sword, but he couldn't move. Azog was laughing and toying with him. A burning fury rushed through Fili's veins.

"KILI," he screamed over the din to his brother, who was fighting nearby. Kili looked where Fili was pointing, and Fili saw Kili's whole world come crashing down around him. Their uncle, Thorin, who had practically been a father to them, was dying. In unison, they charged towards Azog, who was waiting for them with a confident smirk. He wasn't prepared, however, for Kili's arrows. Before Azog could dodge, Kili had lodged two arrows in his chest and another in his forehead. Bellowing in rage, Azog collapsed. Kili had defeated the Pale Orc.

But Thorin was still dying. Fili and Kili both knew that he couldn't possibly survive such a wound, but they were determined to protect him and let him die in peace. They stood over Thorin and shielded him, fighting off hordes of orcs.

What felt like days later, they saw Beorn thundering towards them. He scooped up Thorin and carried the dying King away, leaving Fili and Kili to fend for themselves. Both of them had sustained small wounds – just cuts here and there, nothing serious. Yet.

Fili only took his eyes off Kili for an instant, but a nearby orc-archer took advantage of that one moment and let an arrow fly towards the youngest prince. Kili's scream brought Fili running, dread filling him at the sight of an arrow embedded in Kili's left shoulder. Fili caught Kili as he collapsed and gently lowered him to the ground. From the way blood bubbled out of his mouth and dripped down his chin, Fili could tell that the arrow had punctured one of Kili's lungs. Kili was dying. Kee. His little brother, his other half, his one constant companion, was dying. No. No. No.

"You're going to be okay Kili. You'll be okay, you can't die! You promised Ma, remember? You promised her you'd come home to her!" Fili stifled a sob.

"It's…..all right…brother. Just…sing me…..to sleep. Please." Kili could barely talk, and he coughed as his lung filled up with blood. Fili knew that he had to honor Kili's last request and sing him into the next life, but he knew it would cost his life. The orc-archer that had shot Kili was dead, but there were others.

"I will, brother. Of course I will. Just hold on, I have to kill these orcs so they can't hurt you any more. Just hold on, Kee. Hold on for me." Ony one thought was racing through Fili's mind. _Protect Kee. Protect Kee. _It didn't matter what happened to him as long as they didn't hurt Kee any more.

Fili hacked at the orcs surrounding them, but he was being careless. It didn't matter to him whether he lived or died, he just wanted the orcs to die. So he wasn't as careful as he should have been, and a sword slipped past his guard. Searing pain ripped through him as the orc yanked its sword out of his abdomen. Fili slashed the orc's head off as he sank to his knees. He crawled over to his brother, who was still struggling to breathe.

"Sing…..please…..Fee." A tear slid down Fili's cheek. He began to sing an old dwarvish lullaby, sheltering Kili's body with his own, mindless of the arrows that pierced his skin.

_I know you're afraid I'll disappear_

_That a day will come when I'm not here_

_But you don't need to worry_

_I would follow you anywhere_

_I'll be here til you fall asleep_

_I'll stay until the lights go out_

_My heart and soul are yours to keep_

_I'll stay till you fall asleep, and then I'll follow_

_You don't want me to get hurt_

_And I don't want to hurt you_

_But brother there's nothing you could do_

_That would make me want to leave you_

_I'll be here til you fall asleep_

_I'll stay until the lights go out_

_My heart and soul are yours to keep_

_I'll stay til you fall asleep, and then I'll follow_

_Yes, I'll stay_

_Forever_

_Forever_

_Until the lights leave your eyes_

Fili's voice cracked on the last line, and when he looked down, his brother was gone. Kili's eyes stared lifelessly up into nothing, and Fili's broken body shook with sobs.

Before long, Fili didn't have the strength to do anything except lie next to Kili, holding his brother's cold hand, and wait for death to claim him. He looked around at the death around him, and heard the screams, and knew that that was not how he wanted to die. So instead he looked up at the clear blue sky, the only peaceful sight in the whole world. He wanted that sky to be the last thing he saw.

Hours later, when the battle was done, it was Balin who found them. Lying hand in hand on the battlefield, staring sightlessly up at the sky. He smiled even as he sobbed for them. The line of Durin was broken, but the brothers were together. Fili and Kili could never be separated, not even by death.


End file.
